<p> 1 COMMITTEE REPORT 2 April 18, 2007 3 4 H. 3346 5 6 Introduced by Reps. R. Brown, Scarborough, Hodges, Whipper, 7 Govan, Ceips, Jefferson, Brantley, Breeland, Hosey, Kennedy, 8 Mack, Stavrinakis, Weeks, Williams, Agnew, Jennings, Bowers 9 and McLeod 10 11 S. Printed 4/18/07--H. 12 Read the first time January 24, 2007. 13 14 15 THE COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY 16 To whom was referred a Bill (H. 3346) to amend the Code of 17 Laws of South Carolina, 1976, by adding Article 3 to Chapter 43 18 of Title 27 so as to provide that owners of property on which a 19 cemetery, etc., respectfully 20 REPORT: 21 That they have duly and carefully considered the same and 22 recommend that the same do pass with amendment: 23 24 Amend the bill, as and if amended, Section 27-43-310(A)(1)(a), 25 page 2, line 5 before the /;/ by inserting: 26 /or an agent who has the written permission of family members 27 or descendents/. So when amended Section 27-43-310(A)(1)(a) 28 reads: 29 / (a) family members and descendants of deceased 30 persons buried there or an agent who has the written permission of 31 family members or descendants;/ 32 Amend the bill, further, page 2 by deleting Section 33 27-43-310(A)(1)(c) and inserting: 34 /(c) any person engaging in genealogy research, who has 35 received the permission of the owner of record or the occupant of 36 the property, or both./ 37 Amend the bill, further, Section 27-43-310(D), page 2, line 34 38 after /court/ by inserting /or the magistrates court/. So when 39 amended Section 27-43-310(D) reads: 40 /(D) A person denied reasonable access under the provisions of 41 this section may bring an action in the circuit court or the 42 magistrates court where the property is located to enjoin the owner</p><p>1 [3346-1] 1 of the property from denying the person reasonable ingress and 2 egress to the cemetery or gravesite. In granting this relief, the 3 court may set the frequency of access, hours, and duration of the 4 access./ 5 Amend the bill, further, page 2, immediately after line 41, by 6 adding: 7 /(F) The provisions of this section in no way abrogate, affect, or 8 encumber the title to the landowner’s private property and are 9 exercisable only for a particular private property that is either 10 subject to the rights of access of the persons listed in subsection 11 (A) or the subject of a court order as provided in subsection (D)./ 12 Renumber sections to conform. 13 Amend title to conform. 14 15 JAMES H. HARRISON for Committee. 16 17</p><p>1 [3346-2] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A BILL 10 11 TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 12 1976, BY ADDING ARTICLE 3 TO CHAPTER 43 OF TITLE 27 13 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT OWNERS OF PROPERTY ON 14 WHICH A CEMETERY OR GRAVES ARE LOCATED MUST 15 ALLOW INGRESS AND EGRESS TO THE CEMETERY BY 16 FAMILIES OF PERSONS BURIED THERE, PLOT OWNERS, 17 AND PERSONS CONDUCTING GENEALOGY; TO 18 AUTHORIZE THE PROPERTY OWNER TO DESIGNATE 19 TIMES AND FREQUENCY OF ACCESS; TO PROVIDE THAT 20 THE PROPERTY OWNER IS IMMUNE FROM LIABILITY IN 21 ANY ACTION ARISING OUT OF GRANTING SUCH 22 ACCESS; TO ESTABLISH A CAUSE OF ACTION FOR 23 DENIAL OF REASONABLE ACCESS; AND TO PROVIDE 24 THAT THIS ACT DOES NOT APPLY TO A DEED THAT 25 CREATES OR RESERVES A CEMETERY ON PRIVATE 26 PROPERTY; AND TO DESIGNATE SECTIONS 27-43-10 27 THROUGH 27-43-40 AS ARTICLE 1 OF CHAPTER 43, TITLE 28 27, ENTITLED “REMOVAL OF ABANDONED CEMETERIES” 29 AND TO REENTITLE CHAPTER 43, TITLE 27 AS 30 “CEMETERIES”. 31 32 Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South 33 Carolina: 34 35 SECTION 1. Chapter 43, Title 27 is amended by adding: 36 37 “Article 3 38 39 Access to Cemeteries on Private Property 40</p><p>1 [3346] 1 1 Section 27-43-310. (A)(1) Owners of private property on which 2 a cemetery or graves are located shall allow ingress and egress to 3 the cemetery or graves by: 4 (a) family members and descendants of deceased persons 5 buried there; 6 (b) any cemetery plot owner; 7 (c) any person engaging in genealogy research, who has 8 given reasonable notice to the owner of record or to the occupant 9 of the property, or both. 10 (2) The landowner may designate the frequency of access, 11 hours and duration of the access and the access route if no 12 traditional access route is obviously visible by a view of the 13 property. 14 (3) The landowner, in the absence of gross negligence or 15 wilful misconduct, is immune from liability in any civil suit, claim, 16 action, or cause of action arising out of the access granted pursuant 17 to this section. 18 (B)(1) The right of ingress and egress granted to persons 19 specified in subsection (A) must be reasonable and limited to the 20 purposes of visiting graves, maintaining the gravesite or cemetery, 21 or conducting genealogy research. 22 (2) The right of ingress and egress must not be construed to 23 provide a right to operate motor vehicles on the property for the 24 purpose of accessing a cemetery or gravesite unless there is a road 25 or adequate right-of-way that permits access by a motor vehicle 26 and the owner has given written permission to use the road or 27 right-of-way of necessity. 28 (C) A person entering onto private property to access a 29 gravesite or cemetery shall conduct himself in a manner that does 30 not damage the private lands or the cemetery or gravesites and is 31 liable to the owner of the property for any damage caused as a 32 result of his access. 33 (D) A person denied reasonable access under the provisions of 34 this section may bring an action in the circuit court where the 35 property is located to enjoin the owner of the property from 36 denying the person reasonable ingress and egress to the cemetery 37 or gravesite. In granting this relief, the court may set the 38 frequency of access, hours, and duration of the access. 39 (E) The provisions of this section do not apply to any deed or 40 other written instrument that creates or reserves a cemetery or 41 gravesite on private property.” 42</p><p>1 [3346] 2 1 SECTION 2. Section 27-43-10 through Section 27-43-40 of the 2 1976 Code are designated as Article 1 of Chapter 43, Title 27 and 3 entitled “Removal of Abandoned Cemeteries”, and Chapter 43 of 4 Title 27 of the 1976 Code is reentitled “Cemeteries”. 5 6 SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval by the 7 Governor. 8 ----XX---- 9</p><p>1 [3346] 3</p>